A short essay on the Star Spangled-banner - Amato P. Mongelluzzo

The Star-spangled banner, the National Anthem of the United States
of America is a poem inspired by
the Battle of Baltimore,
fought on September 12-14, 1814 during the War
of 1812.

During the British campaign against Washington, D.C., an elderly and
respected physician, Dr. William Beanes was arrested for unfriendly acts
toward the British soldiers which resulted in his arrest.

Francis Scott Key, a prominent lawyer and friend of Dr. Beanes was
sent by President James Madison to obtain his release. Following
negotiations, the British agreed to release Beanes. However, since the
British were going to attack Baltimore, Maryland next, they would allow
no one to go ashore.

The British landed soldiers on September 12 and engaged in a brisk
land battle, however, they were not able to capture Baltimore. As part
of a two pronged attack, the British now sent their naval fleet to attack
and destroy the port city. The main defense of Baltimore harbor was Fort
McHenry. For 25 hours the British fleet fired rockets and bombs at the
fort.

The fort's defenders bravely withstood the bombardment and did not
surrender. The British realized they could not take Baltimore without
paying for it with heavy casualties. Since they were not willing to pay
this price, they departed from Baltimore.

During the bombardment, Key was down river and while watching was
inspired to write a poem that tells the story of the battle. When he
reached Baltimore he finished the poem. Key wrote the poem to match the
meter tobe sung to an old English tune To Anacreon in Heaven.

The song slowly grew in popularity and was well known and used by
both sides during the Civil war. In later years it was very popular with
the military and it was used as an "unofficial" national anthem. During
World War I, the song became so widely accepted that a drive resulted in
the Congress making it the National Anthem in 1931.

The National Museum of American History, which is part of the
Smithsonian Institution, displays in its main lobby the Star-Spangled
Banner which is 30 feet wide and 42 long. Each star is two feet from
point to point and each stripe is two feet wide. Because of its
deteriorated condition, most Americans have long assumed that this flag
flew during the battle. However, historians using both British and
American sources have found that during the battle there was a late
summer storm which would have prevented the 1260 square foot woolen flag
from being flown. A 17 by 25 storm flag would have been the size of the
actual flag flying during the battle. The large flag, however, was
raised the following morning as the British were departing from
Baltimore. This would have been the flag Key would have seen when
entered Baltimore.

The manuscript that Key wrote was not on the back of an envelope,
they had not yet been invented. The original manuscript is now on
display at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore.

Fort McHenry still stands and it is part of the National Park
Service. The fort is the only site to have both a national monument and
historic shrine disignation.